eBay US gets ‘virtual currency’ category

eBay has added a “virtual currency” category to its US site, which gives users an opportunity to buy and sell digital currencies like Bitcoin and Dongecoin, as well as mining contracts and mining equipment.

The company earlier included this section in its category changes list for April as “Coins and Paper Money.” eBay has also updated their currency policy to reflect this change.

“The updated policy clarifies that listings for Bitcoin and other similar virtual currencies must be listed in the Virtual Currency Category in the Classified Ad format. In terms of mining gear and mining contracts, those can be listed as auction or Buy It Now.”

The report from CoinDesk also notes that the new category has had a mixed response on reddit, with many users claiming that the company would remove it at a later stage.

The virtual currency section has been live on eBay’s UK site since February. Coindesk reported that eBay UK forbids any listing type other than classifieds for virtual currency.

Deals in classified ad formats mean actual transactions of digital currencies between the buyer and seller would take place outside eBay’s jurisdictions.

However, eBay is yet to accept Bitcoin or other digital currencies for payments. This is most likely due to Bitcoin’s competitive nature towards eBay owned payment processor PayPal and the legal uncertainties surrounding the digital currency.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), eBay earlier regarded bitcoin as a “potential competitor” to PayPal. But later, eBay CEO John Donahoe said that digital currencies can be integrated into PayPal and claiming it to be not posing threat to his business.

With a passion for creativity, Ruby Kannan spends her days enthusiastically developing web contents. She loves to review new developments in technology, SEO, social networking, blogging, etc. and shares her thoughts with her readers.